Roofing material for many contemporary single family and multiple family dwelling structures utilizes an outer roof covering consisting of asphalt impregnated fibrous panels or other materials that must be removed and replaced during the useful life of the building or structure to ensure continued protection from weather. Various tools have heretofore been provided for removing old shingles preparatory to the installation of new roofing paper and shingles. Some shingle removing tools include generally planar, narrow heads that remove shingles, many times breaking the shingles into small pieces difficult and labor intensive to gather and remove. Additionally, the designs heretofore provided generally either do not provide sufficient mechanical advantage for ease in removal of nails in plank roofing or double-layer roofing or are of a design such that they are not efficient for rapid removal. For plywood sheathing roof construction used on the majority of single family and multiple family dwellings in the United States, a more efficient tool is needed to speed the removal of shingles. Difficulty inserting tools under a roof with sag between rafters is also a problem that has not heretofore been addressed.
Various tools related to this invention have been used in the past. Examples of prior patents are as follows:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,436,111 issued to England on Apr. 1, 1969 discloses a shoveling device. PA0 2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,699 issued to Olkkola on May 2, 1978 discloses a roof shingle remover having square-tipped teeth. PA0 3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,972 issued to Testa on Oct. 23, 1984 discloses a shingle remover having a flat base-plate. PA0 4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,372 issued to Gabriel on Sep. 12, 1989 discloses a shovel-like apparatus with varying embodiments. PA0 5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,436 issued to Crookston on Mar. 7, 1989 discloses a roofer's tool with a removable blade. PA0 6. U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,498 issued to Mislich et. al. on Jun. 6, 2000 discloses a tool for removing shingles utilizing forward tines and trailing serrate teeth. PA0 7. U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,469 issued to Gracy on Aug. 22, 2000 discloses a hand tool for removal of material. PA0 8. U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,304 issued to Carroll on Apr. 13, 1999 discloses a roofing removal tool with forward tines and trailing serrate teeth.
The important and novel features of this invention, specifically a curved front edge and combination of primary and variable secondary fulcrums whose functionality are discussed below, are neither disclosed nor suggested in the listed patents.